The best online sketching courses I’ve taken are How to Draw Without Talent by Danny Gregory, Foundations by Liz Steel, and the Absolute Beginners Drawing Course by Will Kemp. I like each for a different reason, so I would not recommend the same course to everyone.
Danny Gregory helped me loosen up and stop treating every line like it had to be correct. Liz Steel changed how I simplify complicated subjects when sketching from life. Will Kemp offers the most structured route through fundamental drawing concepts.
I’ve taken these courses myself rather than choosing them from course descriptions alone. Below I’ll explain what stood out to me, what each course teaches, and which one I would choose depending on where you are in your drawing practice.
| Course | Best for | What stood out to me |
|---|---|---|
| How to Draw Without Talent Danny Gregory | Beginners intimidated by drawing | Observation, confidence and letting go of perfect lines |
| Foundations Liz Steel | Sketching from life and on location | Simplifying what I see into edges, shapes and volumes |
| Absolute Beginners Drawing Course Will Kemp | Beginners who want structured fundamentals | Logical progression through line, value, negative space and perspective |
Which Online Sketching Course Would I Choose?
If you feel like you “can’t draw,” I would start with Danny Gregory.
If you can already draw a little but freeze when faced with a real scene, especially outdoors, I would look at Liz Steel.
If you want drawing fundamentals presented in a logical, step-by-step sequence, I would choose Will Kemp.
All three teach observation in some form, but their personalities and approaches are different enough that choosing based on how you like to learn matters more than simply asking which course is “best.”
1. How to Draw Without Talent by Danny Gregory
Best for: complete beginners, nervous sketchers, and anyone who has convinced themselves they lack drawing talent.
How to Draw Without Talent was one of the most refreshing drawing courses I worked through because it attacks a problem that stops a lot of people before technique even matters: the belief that you either have artistic talent or you do not.
The course uses short lessons and practical exercises to develop observational drawing. Instead of pushing you toward polished artwork immediately, it gets you looking at ordinary subjects and putting what you see onto paper.
That approach clicked with me because I had spent too much time worrying about whether a line was “correct.” The more I tried to make everything clean and accurate, the slower and stiffer my drawings became.
One early exercise had me drawing a simple object from life without worrying about whether the final drawing looked impressive. That sounds basic, but allowing myself to make an imperfect drawing and keep going was genuinely useful.
What You Practice
- observational drawing
- contour drawing
- negative space
- everyday objects
- animals and landscapes
- drawing without obsessing over perfection
I would recommend this course when the biggest obstacle is not perspective or shading but simply feeling comfortable opening a sketchbook and drawing.
See How to Draw Without Talent
If that loose observational approach appeals to you, my guide to sketching what you actually see follows a similar philosophy.
2. Foundations by Liz Steel
Best for: people who want to sketch real places and objects without getting overwhelmed by complexity.
Liz Steel’s Foundations course had the biggest effect on how I approach complicated scenes.
When I first started sketching outdoors, I tended to look at a building or street and immediately notice every window, brick, sign and architectural detail. I would try to record everything and end up frustrated.
The course helped me think more deliberately about larger visual relationships before becoming distracted by details.
Edges, Shapes and Volumes
A major part of Liz Steel’s approach is learning to think visually through edges, abstract shapes and volumes.
That was useful to me because those ideas transfer directly to drawing from observation. Instead of asking how I am going to reproduce an entire scene, I can decide what the important visual relationships are and let less important information remain secondary.
My sketches became less about recording every object and more about deciding what deserved attention.
Why I Like It for Location Sketching
A controlled studio exercise gives you time to analyze everything. Drawing outdoors does not.
Light changes. People move. Cars appear. You get tired. Sometimes you have twenty minutes instead of two hours.
I found Liz’s emphasis on simplification particularly useful in those situations because it gives me a way to make decisions instead of trying to record everything equally.
If your main interest is drawing streets and places while traveling, I also have a separate urban sketching guide.
3. Absolute Beginners Drawing Course by Will Kemp
Best for: beginners who prefer an organized sequence of drawing fundamentals.
Will Kemp’s Absolute Beginners Drawing Course is the most structured of these three.
It works through fundamental ideas such as line, value, tone, negative space and perspective rather than concentrating primarily on loose sketchbook practice.
I appreciated how logically the lessons were organized. The course made it easier to understand why certain drawing decisions work instead of only copying a demonstration and hoping I could repeat the result later.
A More Systematic Approach
If Danny Gregory is the course I associate most with removing fear and Liz Steel with thinking more clearly while sketching from observation, Will Kemp is the one I associate with structure.
That makes it particularly useful if you like knowing what principle you are studying and why it matters before moving to the next lesson.
Understanding negative space was especially useful for me because it shifts attention away from naming the object and toward comparing the shapes that are actually in front of me.
The same applies to value and perspective. They give you tools for diagnosing why a drawing feels wrong instead of simply knowing that something looks off.
See the Absolute Beginners Drawing Course
How the Three Courses Compare
| Danny Gregory | Liz Steel | Will Kemp | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best fit | New or hesitant sketcher | Observational and location sketcher | Structured beginner |
| Main strength | Confidence and observation | Seeing and simplifying complex subjects | Drawing fundamentals |
| Approach | Relaxed and encouraging | Analytical but spontaneous | Sequential and systematic |
| Useful for sketchbooks | Very | Very | Yes |
| Useful for drawing from life | Yes | Especially | Yes |
| Good absolute beginner choice | Yes | Yes | Yes |
What I Would Pick as a Complete Beginner
I would base the decision on what is stopping you from drawing.
If you are intimidated and keep telling yourself you lack talent, I would choose How to Draw Without Talent.
If you are already attracted to sketchbooks, travel sketching or drawing the world around you, I would lean toward Foundations.
If you want someone to walk you through fundamental drawing concepts in a clear sequence, I would pick the Absolute Beginners Drawing Course.
None of those choices prevents you from taking another course later. In my experience, hearing similar observational principles explained by different teachers can actually help them sink in.
Do Online Drawing Courses Actually Help?
They helped me, but watching lessons alone is not what made the difference.
The useful part was taking an idea from a lesson and immediately putting it into practice with real subjects.
I would rather watch one lesson and draw afterward than watch five hours of instruction without opening a sketchbook.
The courses also exposed me to slightly different ways of explaining observation. That helped because sometimes an idea I had heard before finally made sense when another instructor demonstrated it differently.
How I Get More Out of an Online Sketching Course
Draw Between Lessons
I do not like treating an art course like a television series.
After learning something, I want enough time to test it before moving forward. Even fifteen minutes of drawing can tell me whether I actually understood the lesson.
Use Ordinary Subjects
You do not need an elaborate reference image to practice observation.
A mug, shoe, houseplant, chair, hand or view through the window gives you enough visual information to practice almost every fundamental skill these courses discuss.
If choosing a subject is what stops you, use one of my easy drawing ideas for beginners.
Do Not Wait for Perfect Drawings
One thing all of these courses reinforced for me in different ways is that learning requires drawings that do not work.
If every page has to look finished, I become cautious. When I allow a sketch to be an experiment, I can actually test the concept the lesson is trying to teach.
Repeat the Same Exercise Later
I find it useful to repeat an exercise days or weeks later without rewatching the demonstration first.
That quickly shows me whether I understood the underlying idea or merely copied what the instructor was doing.
For more on building that kind of practice, see my guide to practicing sketching.
Are Online Sketching Courses Worth Paying For?
I think they can be when you know what problem you are trying to solve.
I would not buy a course simply because I feel like I should be improving faster. I would choose one because I want help with something specific: getting started, seeing more accurately, simplifying complicated scenes, understanding value, or developing stronger drawing fundamentals.
A good course gives structure to practice. It cannot replace practice itself.
My Pick Depends on How You Want to Learn
I would not call one of these three courses universally better than the others.
Danny Gregory is my pick when drawing feels intimidating. Liz Steel is my pick for learning to deal with the complexity of real-world sketching. Will Kemp is my pick for someone who wants drawing fundamentals explained systematically.
The common thread is observation. Each helped me spend less time worrying about what a drawing is supposed to look like and more time actually looking at what is in front of me.
If you want to practice that without committing to a course yet, start with my sketching tips for beginners or choose a subject from my drawing ideas.